Page 28

Brynla

“Land ho!”

Above the sound of the choppy water smashing the sides of the ship and the groan of the timber as it rolls in the waves, Toombs’s voice calls out, faint and faraway.

I know that being down in my cabin is making me feel worse—my stomach churns with nausea, my skin is clammy to touch—but I don’t dare go on deck, not now.

It’s not just that the closer we’ve gotten to the Midlands, the more the weather has turned, sending lashings of rain and huge swells over the last twenty-four hours, which make being on deck a miserable experience, but that I’m in pain.

I don’t want Andor to know I’m suffering.

I know I’m the one who asked him for his healing help, but I don’t want to seem any more vulnerable than I already do.

At least Steiner was able to tinker around in his lab and find the right blend of special herbs and leaves to take the place of the tea I’d been drinking to ward off the monthly bleeding.

That would be another complication to deal with, and the last thing I want is some dragons finding us first on the hunt because they could pick up on the scent of my blood.

Steiner also gave me some poppy resin to consume in case the pain gets too bad, but I’ve been cautious with it. The flower clouds the mind and makes you tired, and I need as much energy and clarity as I can muster, especially since I don’t know if we’re going to be heading out on a raid right away.

Fuck , I think, as another wallop of pain slams into me, gritting my teeth as I curl up into a ball on the bed. This one is bad.

Lemi lets out a sympathetic whine and rests his head on my legs. I keep my eyes pinched shut, swallowed by the pain as it ravages me, my womb feeling both heavy as stone and like it’s being stabbed repeatedly by a hot knife.

He whines again, moving his muzzle under my hand, until I start petting him, the motions over his smooth, soft fur making the pain easier to handle.

I don’t know if it’s because Lemi has suen in him or if this is our bond, but there’s always some kind of energy exchange between us, particularly when I’m in agony or stressed, like he takes all the bad and gives me his good, and never asks for anything in return, other than a good butt scratch every now and then.

A knock at my cabin door makes us both jolt.

I sit up, trying to seem normal.

“Yes?”

“Can I come in?” Andor asks through the door.

I reach over to the tiny table and take out a nugget of poppy resin from the pouch, placing it between my teeth and my cheek, like Steiner told me to do. It won’t be enough to get rid of the pain, but at least it will stunt it and I won’t lose any function.

“Come in,” I tell him.

The door opens and Andor pokes his head in.

His hair is wet, making it look jet-black and long as it sticks to his forehead and neck.

A water droplet runs over his jawline and down his throat where it disappears into his soaked collar, and I get the strangest sensation of wanting to lick that water off his neck.

Must be the poppy resin kicking in already , I think.

“How are you feeling?” he asks, looking me over. “You seem a little green.”

I nod grimly. “A trade-off for staying dry,” I say, wincing slightly as the cramps come again. At least I can blame my reactions on being seasick.

“Well, you won’t be dry for long,” he says, his eyes sparking in excitement, something I usually find so infectious, but not right now. “We spotted the wards. Toombs is going to bring the ship through them. Looks like it might be raining on the other side too, though hopefully not acid rain.”

My stomach twists with nerves now, on top of everything else. “Hopefully not. So what’s our plan of attack?”

He leans against the doorway in a casual manner, folding his arms across his chest, and I practice great restraint in keeping my eyes focused on his amber ones and not at the way his wet shirt is clinging to every taut muscle in his upper body.

You’d think the pain would be distracting enough for me, but I guess not.

“Because we’ll be heading to see your aunt after this, I stuck to the eastern portion of the Midlands.

You know the valley that’s shaped like a tooth and has that high bank of caves along one side of it?

Last time I was there I noticed the blooddrages had started making nests inside the cracks in the middle.

There were a lot of them. With the three of us, we might be able to get as many as we can at once.

I’ll collect the suen using the extractor, while the two of you distract them or fight them off.

Shouldn’t take much time at all. Then we’ll head right back to the ship. Might not even have to stay the night.”

My eye twitches at another wave of pain.

“You don’t approve?” he asks.

“Actually,” I say, clearing my throat, “I’m a little concerned.”

“Why? You’ve been training, your armor is better than ever.”

“I’ve been training against you and Steiner, not against dragons,” I point out.

“Well, if you needed a bigger creature, I’m sure we could have brought out one of the horses. Vidar’s mount is a nasty piece of work.”

I give him a wry look. “Blooddrages might be small, but they’re vicious and can easily overwhelm you.

Even if Lemi and I are distracting them while you collect the eggs, it won’t be easy to fend them off, especially not several hordes of them.

I dare say that you have the easier job with the egg extraction, though I suppose I’d probably do it wrong if we were to switch.

I don’t know how to use that syringe. In addition, I know the valley you’re talking about.

Because of the way it funnels air between the volcanoes and the sea, it’s known for fire tornadoes. ”

“But would blooddrages choose to build their nests where the fire tornadoes could get them?”

“Since fire doesn’t hurt their eggs, they might take their chances,” I tell him. “That also means that if we happen upon a change in the weather, we need to get out of there quick. Those dragons will return to their nests and sit on their eggs to protect them from being relocated by the tornadoes.”

He gives me a warm smile, tilting his head. “Sounds like I have you onboard.”

I let out a shaking exhale, wishing the pain would just fuck right off for a moment.

The resin is barely helping. “You’re the one in charge of this operation, remember?

I’m just the hired help. Oh wait, you actually haven’t paid me for this.

Oh right, that’s because I’m your hostage and you’re blackmailing me. ”

His smile twists. “Remember, I told you I would make it worth your while. We can talk payment after we get the eggs.”

Then he straightens up and looks around my cabin, his expression becoming more stern.

“You should probably get changed into your armor and be ready to go in about ten minutes. Once we get through the wards, the ship will drop us off as close to the shore as possible. I know Toombs doesn’t want to anchor the boat within the wards— he’s paranoid about dragons roasting the mast and setting the ship on fire. ”

I hadn’t even thought about that.

Andor leaves the cabin and it’s only when he’s shut the door that I let out a whimper and curl up into a ball on the berth again.

I let myself deal with the pain and breathe through it for a few minutes, using breathing techniques Ellestra taught me, and try to stay focused on the real task at hand, which is getting back to her.

Even if Andor keeps his word, I can’t rely on that.

From what I’ve learned about him over the last month, I don’t think he means me any harm, nor would he purposely let any harm come to me.

But that doesn’t mean he wouldn’t use me for his own endeavors.

His father has a strong hold on him, whether Andor knows it or not, and I’m just some girl he took to give his family a better hold on the black market.

He’s driven, despite his nonchalant attitude, and I think he will do everything he can to succeed.

So I have to think about this egg raid in entirely different terms. I’ll help Andor get his eggs.

But then Lemi and I will need to escape.

Somehow. Maybe I can get my hands on the tranquilizing serum that Steiner made for the dragons.

It saved us the last time. I just have to figure out how much to inject Andor with so that it either knocks him out or makes him easier to manipulate, and to do it somewhere where I’m not putting his life in danger.

I want to be free, but if I can avoid killing him, I will.

Or…I could just leave him to the blooddrages.

I’m sure he’d be able to fight them off eventually.

We could use the opportunity to escape. Head back to the rowboat and start rowing along the coast. If the weather cooperates we could stay hidden in the volcanic fog, shielded from the sight of the dragons inside the wards and the ship outside the wards.

That’s as good a plan as any.

I get dressed in my armor—a formerly tedious process made much more efficient by all the hidden straps, ties, and buttons engineered by Steiner—then start strapping on the sheaths that go on my back.

I braid my hair back tightly and knot it at the nape of my neck, then grab my ash-glass swords and slide them there.

Then finally I pull on my leather breeches and boots.

I know I should feel more powerful than I do in my new armor, but I don’t.

If anything I’m slightly self-conscious over how my stomach is accentuated at the moment thanks to the war going on inside my womb, and the pain still throbs in the forefront, no matter how hard I try to ignore it.

Lemi looks at me, ears askew, and I attempt a smile.

“Silly things to be worried about,” I tell him. “I’ll be okay. I just need to be strong. I’ve done this before.”